June slate 2015 web final2 by Idaho School Boards Association

SUMMER 2015 1 SLATE

A PUBLICATION OF THE IDAHO SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION

In This Issue: 2015 ISBA Scholarship Recipients / 11 Bullying & The Law / 21 Legislative Wrap Up / 28

For

T o d r g et a

Boise Public Schools Foundation / 40

- Congratulations Class of 2015 SLATE

Volume 34

Summer 2015

Table of Contents

SLATE

Summer 2015

FEATURES: 11 2015 ISBA Scholarship Recipients

13 Board Training: Testimonials

18 Prudential Award Winners 19 Linda Clark featured in Education Week 21 Bullying and the Law 23 Career Ladder / Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter 24 ISBA Annual Convention 26 Dual Credit Makes Sense / University Article 27 Idaho Dairy Council / Cindy Miller 28 Legislative Wrap Up / Jess Harrison 32 Process of Resolutions and Deadline 36 School Libraries / Stephanie Bailey-White 38 Boise Public Schools Foundation 40 Executive Board Meeting Highlights 43 Board Training: Big 5 Workshops

48 Summer Leadership Institute

IN EVERY ISSUE: 5 About ISBA

14 At Your Service / Misty Swanson

6 Presidents Message / Todd Wells, ISBA President

15 Ask ISBA

7 Statistic of the Quarter / April Hoy

16 Policy Update News / Jess Harrison

8 Safety Notes / Pat Pinkham, Moreton & Company

44 Business Partners & Affiliates

10 State Department of Education / Sherri Ybarra

46 The Last Word / Karen Echeverria

12 State Board of Education / Emma Atchley

SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer 2015

SLATE

MISSION Provide leadership and services to local school boards for the benefit of students and for the advocacy of public education.

VISION School Board leadership for excellence in Idaho public education

STANDARDS 1. Vision and Mission 2. Continuous Improvement 3. Advocacy 4. Accountability 5. Community Engagement 6. Board Operations and Training

ISBA STAFF Executive Director Karen Echeverria Associate Executive Director Misty Swanson Policy & Government Affairs Director Jess Harrison Office & Finance Coordinator Kristi Toolson Board Training Coordinator Krissy LaMont Research & Policy Coordinator April Hoy Printing & Graphics Coordinator Lance Corpus

SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer 2015

M A G A Z I N E Subscription to the SLATE, published four times per year, is by membership to the Idaho School Boards Association. The material contained herein is for informational purposes only and may be quite divergent in point of view and or controversial in nature. It is the belief of the Association that the democratic process functions best through discussions which challenge and stimulate thinking on the part of the reader. Therefore, this material does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Association or its members.

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ISBA Summer Leadership Institute July 23, 2015 Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho ISBA Summer Leadership Institute August 6, 2015 Meridian, Idaho

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About ISBA

OFFICERS

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of the 2014-2015 ISBA Executive Board The Idaho School Boards Association is governed by a 22-member Executive Board which includes four officers, plus two representatives from each of the nine regions of ISBA.

President Todd Wells Castleford Jt. SD #417

President-Elect John Menter Troy SD #287

Vice President Margaret (Margie) Chipman Weiser SD #431

Imm. Past President Anne Ritter West Ada Jt. SD #002

MEMBERS

of the 2014-2015 ISBA Executive Board

Region 1 Chair Tom Hearn Coeur d’Alene SD #271

Region 1 Vice Chair Jody Hendrickx St. Maries SD #041

Region 2 Chair Jennifer Parkins Genesee Jt. SD #282

Region 2 Vice Chair Kim Campbell Moscow SD #281

Region 3 Chair Juan (Mike) Vuittonet West Ada Jt. SD #002

Region 3 Vice Chair Jason Knopp Melba Jt. SD #136

Region 4 Chair Lisa Knudson Castleford Jt. SD #417

Region 4 Vice Chair Scott Tverdy Buhl Jt. SD #412

Region 5 Chair James (Jim) Stoor Soda Springs Jt. SD #150

Region 5 Vice Chair Janie Gebhardt Pocatello/Chubbuck SD #025

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Region 6 Chair Ryan Ashcraft West Jefferson SD #253

Region 6 Vice Chair Deidre Warden Idaho Falls SD #091

Region 7 Chair Eric Jenson South Lemhi SD #292

Region 8 Vice Chair Lacey MacKenzie-Yraguen Weiser SD #431

Region 9 Chair Wally Hedrick

Region 9 Vice Chair Leslie Baker Moscow Charter School

Meridian Technical Charter HS

Region 7 Vice Chair Vacant

Region 8 Chair Barbara Dixon Meadows Valley SD #011

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President’s Message

Board Member Roles in Legislation By Todd Wells ISBA President

Ah, the life of the board member: watching budgets and monitoring finances, reviewing and updating policy, working through conflict, considering district or charter vision and goals; the list goes on and on. Ultimately, the end goal is student achievement and success, with whatever measure we deem appropriate to gauge that progress. We can’t lose sight of those important aspects of our service, but it is also important to realize the role and responsibility that we have at the state and national level with regard to the legislative process, because we know this too can greatly influence student achievement. The ISBA and local board members are becoming recognized as the authority and face of public education in Idaho. We recognize that every district has specific needs and can be impacted by legislation differently. Through the structure of the ISBA’s Government Affairs Committee (GAC), the ISBA has representation from the regions across the State and guidance from resolutions passed at the annual meeting. Throughout the year, and especially during the legislative session, your regional representatives work diligently to ensure that board members’ concerns are heard. Your communication with them is critical and necessary for that process.

It is not uncommon for legislation to be supported by some districts and opposed by others. When that occurs, the ISBA weighs the impact of the subject on a statewide level through communication from regions, analysis of the fiscal impact, and consideration of scenarios that could arise. If there is a clear majority of districts in favor or opposed, based on a guiding resolution or input to the region representatives, the ISBA will choose to support or oppose the legislation. If the GAC feels that the impact is too varied across the State, we remain silent or neutral on legislation. Individual districts and trustees still have the opportunity and are encouraged to weigh in with their support or opposition. In any case, the ISBA will continue to work to improve legislation so the final product will benefit districts as much as possible.

This year, when the issue of the grocery tax elimination came forward, board members across the State, as well as the ISBA, contacted legislators and communicated concerns with them regarding the impact the loss of those funds would create. The overwhelming response from legislators, as is often the case, was that the communication from local board members weighed heavily in their deliberation of the legislation and ultimately resulted in the death of grocery tax elimination.

What is most important is that board members understand that communication is key; communication in your district with the superintendent, staff, patrons, and other board members to realize local impacts; communication with your region representatives to ensure that those impacts are recognized by the ISBA; communication with legislators and other State officials so that your elected officials recognize you as the education authority for the district you represent.

Because every district and charter school is unique, there are also times when your district/charter may be affected differently than the majority of districts/ charters across the State. It happens every year. In those situations, your own relationship and communication with legislators is key to making sure that your district is represented. It is important to recognize that the ISBA represents Idaho school districts and charter schools as a whole, but board members represent their local constituents and district.

It is my hope that you realize the impact you can have as a board member in the legislative process. I know that the GAC members are eager to hear from you and represent the districts in their regions. Legislators frequently report that the biggest influence in their decisions come from input they receive from constituents they represent, especially board members. We need to recognize that we are authorities on public education and continue to develop our role as the face of public education in the State of Idaho.

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Statistic of the Quarter

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Statistic of the Quarter The Idaho State Legislature increased the operational funds appropriated for districts for the upcoming fiscal year by 6.55%.

State Operational Funds per Support Unit $30,000

$25,000

$20,000

$15,000

With this year’s increases in operational funds, as well as last year’s, public schools are approaching the levels of per unit operational funds they received in 2010. Although the worst appears to have passed, improvement is needed before Idaho’s public schools enjoy the levels of funding they received at the end of the last decade.

$10,000

$5,000

$0 2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Fiscal Year

Operational funds, referred to as discretionary funds in State budget publications, are defined as: Those dollars appropriated for public schools that are not needed to satisfy either the formula funding

requirements of Idaho Code or line item earmarks in the appropriation bill. 1

School districts rely on these dollars to fund everything from health benefits to utilities. The biggest change to the provision of operational funds in the past several years occurred in 2007. The Idaho State Legislature eliminated the public school Maintenance and Operations property tax levy, replacing it with an increase in the statewide sales tax.2 This resulted in a large spike in State operational funds appropriated for public schools equal to the local discretionary funds eliminated with the levy. Following that, the operational funds per support unit remained fairly steady until the 2011 fiscal year when revenue shortfalls resulted in severe budget cuts.3 The Legislature shifted many public education line items, including transportation, field trips, and programs from gifted students, to the discretionary budget item. It simultaneously cut the discretionary budget, leaving it to the districts to decide where and how cuts should be made.

1. Legislative Services Office, 2015, p.1-9. 2. Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy. (2014). Idaho Public School Funding: 1980 to 2013. Retrieved from http://idahocfp.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Idaho-Education-Funding.pdf. p.8. 3. Russell, Betsey Z. (March, 26, 2010). Legislature Makes Deep Cuts in Proposed School Budget, The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved from http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/mar/26/legislature-makes-deep-cuts-in-proposed-school/.

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Safety Notes

SCHOOL SCIENCE LABORATORIES LABORATORY SAFETY CHEMICAL HYGIENE PROGRAM

By Pat Pinkham Moreton & Company

The largest concentrations of hazardous chemicals located in any school are in the science laboratories. Acutely toxic, highly corrosive, and flammable chemicals are routinely stored and used within the laboratories located in middle, junior high, and high school campuses. To safely manage this exposure, each school campus that houses a science laboratory, should develop and implement a laboratory safety chemical hygiene program. This program is required under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety standard under 1910.1450 “Occupational Exposures to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories” as well as under Idaho Code “Laboratory and Chemical Storage Safety Rules 111”. These safety standards call for the implementation of written safety rules that outline the safety policy and procedures for: • • • • • • • • •

Maintaining an accurate inventory of chemicals stored and used within the laboratory; Safe chemical storage procedures; Proper disposal methods; Emergency procedures to take in case of a spill; Standard operating procedures for working with hazardous materials; Proper selection and use of personal protective equipment; Assigning a “Chemical Hygiene Officer” to manage the program; Maintaining “Safety Data Sheets” (SDS) for all hazardous materials stored and used within the laboratory; and Ensuring that all chemical containers are accurately labeled including secondary use containers.

Currently, changes are underway to standardize how hazardous chemicals are labeled, as well as how information about chemical safety is delivered by way of the SDS. In March of 2012, OSHA issued a final rule adopting a Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of labeling for hazardous materials and standardized the format for Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) renaming them, Safety Data Sheets. These changes are to go in effect by June 2015, and during recent visits to Idaho schools, I note that many of the laboratory chemicals that have been recently purchased carry the new labeling system. Schools that have existing laboratory safety chemical hygiene plans should update their programs to include the GHS labeling system, and to replace their MSDS with the new Safety Data Sheets.

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The GHS labeling system requires that chemical containers be equipped with labels that include: • Product Identifier - Chemical name, code number, or batch number; • Precautionary Statement - One or more phrases that describe recommended measures to be taken to minimize or prevent adverse effects resulting from exposure to a hazardous chemical or improper storage or handling of a hazardous chemical; • Signal words - A single word used to indicate the relative level of severity of the hazard and alert the reader to a potential hazard on the label. The signal words used are “danger” and “warning”. “Danger” is used for the more severe hazards, while “warning” is used for less severe hazards; • Hazard Statement - A phrase assigned to each hazard category; examples include “harmful if swallowed”, “highly flammable liquid and vapor”, etc.; and • The name, address, and telephone number of the manufacturer or importer. GHS labels will also include a pictograph providing visual information as to the potential hazards of the chemical. Here are several examples.

Corrosive

Explosive

Flammable

Acutely Toxic

At the present time, a common way to label secondary use containers within school science laboratories is to label the container with the chemical element symbol. This practice does not meet current safety guidelines for container labeling and creates hazards, particularly in a school setting in which a student may not understand the chemical element symbol. Secondary use containers of chemicals should be labeled with the chemical name and the appropriate signal words and pictographs. OSHA’s required change from Material Safety Data Sheets to Safety Data Sheets was made to reduce confusion by requiring all manufacturers, suppliers, and importers of hazardous chemicals to use the same format for their Safety Data Sheets and to use a uniform order of information. Manufacturers, suppliers, and importers are to adopt the new Safety Data Sheets by June 2015, and will not be allowed to ship these materials without the updated data sheets after December 2015. Schools should immediately start the process of replacing their old MSDS with the new Safety Data Sheets. For those Idaho school districts that utilize the SafeSchools.com library of online safety training, they offer courses on the Laboratory Safety / Chemical Hygiene program, as well as the changes made to the OSHA standards for chemical labeling and the switch from MSDS to Safety Data Sheets. These courses include: • • • •

Hazard Communication – Your Right to Understand; Safety Data Sheets; Science Lab Safety; and Science Lab Chemical Spills.

If you have questions related to the Laboratory Safety – Chemical Hygiene program requirements, or to the new chemical labeling requirements, please contact Allan Ranstrom or Pat Pinkham at Moreton Company at 1-800-341-6789 or via email at aranstrom@moreton.com or at ppinkham@moreton.com.

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State Department of Education

Access to Statewide Test Results and the Idaho Challenge By Sherri Ybarra Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction

As we move towards the close of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) testing window, it is important that parents have an understanding of what to expect with a new test aligned to the new Core Standards. The SBAC assessment is a snapshot of students and their knowledge of mathematics and English language arts (ELA) from third grade through high school. Because it is a snapshot, it is important for parents to know that this is certainly not the only measure or assessment associated with student learning and achievement. There are many other tests that teachers may use to support student learning at the local level and I highly encourage testing that informs teachers of a student’s progress throughout the school year. Idaho administered the SBAC field test and a pilot test over the past two years. This year, Idaho is administering the test for the first time aligned with Idaho’s new Core Standards for a baseline measurement. It is important for parents to not compare the upcoming SBAC results to scores on previous tests. This is a new test, aligned to new standards and will establish a new baseline moving forward.

It is my goal as Superintendent of Public Instruction to ensure that we not only have the proper standards in place for Idaho’s students, but also the proper assessment aligned to those standards. Because this is a new test aligned to more demanding standards, the grade level performance will be more rigorously measured than previous tests. It will take several years for student results to reach the level they were previously achieving. This does not mean that students are doing worse than in previous years, but that they are being tested to higher, more demanding standards. We are looking forward to the results of this year’s test so students know where they stand, and our great Idaho teachers can provide help and support when needed. Whenever we raise expectations, it can take time to catch up.

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It is also important to point out the hard work teachers have done over the past few years in implementing the new Core Standards. Teachers have been incorporating the Core Standards in their instruction time since their adoption, but this is the first time they are being rigorously tested. It will take several years of testing to receive a true picture of student achievement in mathematics and ELA. The hard work that teachers have put into implementation of the new Core Standards should be recognized, and it certainly doesn’t go unnoticed by the State Department of Education. Parents will have access to their child’s test results shortly after they complete the mathematics and ELA portions of the test. Results may be made available shortly after the completion of the assessment in the following ways: •

Districts having tested early in the testing window can receive individual student scores approximately 10 business days after completing both portions of the assessment; somewhere around mid-May they will be available to parents on an individual student level. • Districts can make aggregate results available when all of the tests have been completed in mathematics and ELA. • Parent reports can be made available from the district once all scores have been gathered.

It is my goal as Superintendent of Public Instruction to ensure that we not only have the proper standards in place for Idaho’s students, but also the proper assessment aligned to those standards. I will gather feedback from school board members, administrators, teachers, parents and many other stakeholders this summer to review the Core Standards and also the SBAC test, again with the goal of making sure that the standards and state assessment we have in place are the right choices for kids. We will call this review process the Idaho Challenge; I would challenge Idahoans to be a part of this process to review the current Core Standards and the SBAC assessment. More information will be made available at sde.idaho.gov regarding the Idaho Challenge this summer.

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2015 ISBA Scholarship Recipients This year, the ISBA Scholarship Trust awarded scholarships to 19 children and grandchildren of school board members. Those awarded included students from all areas of the State. Thank you to all of those who participate in the Scholarship Auction held each year at the ISBA Annual Convention! The items you donate to be auctioned off and your auction purchases are what make this program possible.

Recipient

Region

Board Member

Relationship

Whitney Allen 6 Burton Allen Parent Rebecca Bean 7 Von Bean Parent Isabell Bruce 2 Deb Klatt Grandparent 6 Lisa Burtenshaw Parent Sydney Burtenshaw Whitney Fredrickson

Wendy Fredrickson

Parent

Lacy Goodson 1 Dan Goodson Grandparent Samuel Hansen 4 Daniel Hansen Parent Morgan Hill 1 Joseph Hill Parent *Lacey Hovey 2 Dustin Heinzerling Parent Bret Kindall 8 Dennis Marti Grandparent *Luke La Mue

Gary La Mue

Parent

Bryan Lankford 5 Lande Lankford Parent 2 Keri LeForce Parent Savannah LeForce Cortney Petersen 5 Sharee Petersen Parent Kyle Reed 5 Dennis Reed Parent Chloe Schoessler

Lauresa Schoessler

Parent

Lauren Smyser 3 Melinda Smyser Parent Kristen Verkist 1 Jon Verkist Parent Samuel Weeks 2 Nathan Weeks Parent

* Memorial Scholarships: Smith Family Memorial Scholarship: Lacey Hovey, daughter of Dustin Heinzerling Comstock Memorial Scholarship: Luke La Mue, son of Gary La Mue

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State Board of Education

A Busy Summer at the State Board of Education By Emma Atchley President, State Board of Education

n o i t a c u d E n a i d n I Summit t i m m u S STEM e v i t a l s i g Le Recap

As all of you know firsthand, summer break for students does not translate to summer break for school board members, administrators, teachers, and other school professionals. The same is true with the State Board of Education. In June, we are hosting two summits addressing critical education issues in Idaho. First, the State Board of Education’s Idaho Indian Education Committee and the State Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education, will be holding the Indian Education Summit on June 10-11, 2015, in Boise, at the Red Lion Downtowner. The focus of the summit is to help educators identify and understand culturally responsive pedagogies, college readiness, and best practices in Indian education. We are pleased that the Summit keynote speaker this year will be Dr. Margaret Kovach, of Plains Cree and Saulteaux ancestry. She is an Associate Professor with the College of Education, University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Kovach is the author of Indigenous Methodologies: Characteristics, Conversations, and Contexts. More information can be found at http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/ native_american/.

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The Idaho State Board of Education STEM Summit is scheduled for June 10, 2015, from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM at the Boise State University Student Union Building in the Simplot Ballroom. This free, full-day, interactive work session will bring together educators, administrators, industry, and STEM education stakeholders to identify the most effective methods to move Idaho’s P-20 Statewide STEM Strategic Plan into action, with a particular focus on the systems needed to effectively expand Idaho’s STEM talent pipeline. The Summit activities are designed to encourage in-depth discussions and the creation of recommendations that can be used by the State Board of Education, policymakers, industry, and educators to enhance STEM efforts in Idaho. More information regarding the STEM Summit can be found at http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov/board_initiatives/ stem_education/stem_education.asp. We also have a number of working committees resulting from legislation that was passed this most recent legislative session. Governor Otter has requested that the School Funding Subcommittee of the Governor’s Task Force for Improving Education

State Board of Education

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provide more detail to the Task Force’s recommendation to shift the school funding formula basis from Average Daily Attendance (ADA) to Average Daily Enrollment or Membership. This group will also look at pupil personnel and classified staff allowance. ISBA will have representatives on the School Funding subcommittee as we look at various formula options. The Career Ladder legislation included a $4,000 master teacher premium for our more experienced teachers who show exemplary performance in the classroom as measured by evaluations, student achievement, and additional qualifications showing mastery of instructional techniques. Those final qualifications can be set forth by a district-appointed committee of education stakeholders, or a district can adopt qualifications set forth by a State Board-appointed committee of education stakeholders. The State Board-appointed committee will have recommended qualifications by the end of the year, and we are pleased to include ISBA members as part of that committee. The legislature also approved new legislation regarding college and career advising for students in grades 8 through 12. The legislation identified several college and career advising programs and strategies that can be implemented at the local level. Staff from the State Board will be at several summer conferences and conventions to provide guidance and gather feedback. And finally, we are working with the State Department of Education to increase awareness of mastery-based education among school districts and to establish an incubator program in up to 20 school districts to establish mastery-based education programs. This too was a recommendation of the Governor’s Task Force that was adopted by the legislature. As our students are enjoying a much-earned break, we look forward to working with you on these important issues. The State Board truly appreciates everything you do to provide a quality education to Idaho students. Our education successes would not be possible without you. Thank you.

ISBA Board Training Have you heard? Board Training is the Word!

Definitely worth the time! What Derek Robinson, Board Member at Falcon Ridge Charter #456C, had to say about Strategic Planning.

It was very good and very informative about board roles and responsibilities. What Chief Taghee Elementary Academy Charter #483C Director, Joel Weaver, said when asked what he would tell a Board Member or Charter Director about the Effective School Board training he received.

I learned what the school needs and how we can improve the school together. What Monticello Montessori Charter School #474C parent, Amanda Bohman, learned from the Strategic Planning training.

It is worthwhile! I recommend it! What Jefferson County Joint School District #251 Administrator, Yvonne Thurber, said when asked what she would tell a board member or administrator about the Strategic Planning she received.

I learned that if you can get everyone in a room for a day you can find that common ground. Also it was good for everyone to hear that all districts have similar issues to those we have in our district.

By Krissy LaMont ISBA Training Coordinator

What David Brinkman, Board Chairman at Boundary County School District #101, had to say.

Worth the time! What Bryce Scrimsher, Board Member at Culdesac School District #342, had to say about ISBA Board Training.

Call ISBA to schedule your board training: (208) 854-1476

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At Your Service

Five ISBA Services That Are Free By Misty Swanson ISBA Associate Executive Director

This year I have titled my SLATE articles “At Your Service”. There are a multitude of services that ISBA provides to its members; some services are offered as a part of your membership dues and some charge a minimal fee. I hope these “At Your Service” articles will help you learn more about the many ways ISBA can help your district or charter school. This month, I will share information on five services that are free and offered as a part of your membership dues.

Salary Schedule

Is your district negotiating salaries and benefits? Are you curious what nearby or similar-sized districts pay their staff and what benefits they offer? The ISBA Salary Schedule can help answer your questions. Each year the ISBA compiles salary schedule and benefit information from Idaho school districts to create the Salary Schedule. The Salary Schedule is offered in electronic format. To access, go to the ISBA website (www.idsba.org) and enter the login information on the left. You can contact ISBA if you do not have the login information.

Ask ISBA

Do you have a question you may not want to ask a fellow board member or your superintendent? Is something happening in your district or charter school you think may be handled incorrectly? ISBA offers the Ask ISBA service as a way to ask your question and receive an answer confidentially. ISBA staff receive questions from trustees, superintendents, and clerks on a variety of topics. To help others learn from these questions and answers, ISBA offers the Ask ISBA service on its website. Members can submit their question online and also review an archive of previously asked questions and answers. Visit the ISBA website Ask ISBA page for an archive of past questions and answers or submit your own question.

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Regional Email Lists

ISBA has created regional email lists to provide an additional tool for communication with colleagues in your region. The email lists are available to board members, superintendents, clerks, and business managers for effective communication among ISBA’s eight regions. Charter schools are able to communicate with other charter schools as well. If you’d like to ask a question of the colleagues in your region, simply use the regional email lists. If you are unsure how to use this service, please contact ISBA and one of our staff members can assist you.

Legal Services

One of the highly rated services that ISBA provides is access to legal counsel. ISBA provides four (4) hours of legal services per member district or charter school each fiscal year. This block of prepaid legal time allows members to utilize ISBA’s legal services for complicated legal questions or other services such as policy and/or contract drafting or review, or negotiations advice. Members are able to allocate their legal time as they see fit without regard to topic. By getting accurate legal advice upfront, ISBA members can often avoid costly litigation down the road. For more details on this valuable service, please contact ISBA or visit the ISBA website.

Education Directory ISBA Education Directory

Would you like to contact a board member in a neighboring district or charter school? Did you meet someone at the Convention who had a great idea you’d like to implement but you don’t know how to contact them? The Education Directory contains contact information for the ISBA Executive Board, Idaho school districts and charter schools, as well as Idaho education entities. It is an essential tool for school district trustees, charter school board members, superintendents, clerks, and business managers. The ISBA Education Directory is offered in electronic format. To access, go to the ISBA website and enter the login information on the left. You can contact ISBA if you do not have the login information.

Question: Can school boards grant physical education credit to students who participate in an extracurricular activity?

Answer: Yes.

Administrative rule provides the parameters for granting a credit for physical education to students participating in an extracurricular activity. IDAPA 08.02.03.105.01.i. states that “Students participating in one (1) season in any sport recognized by the Idaho High School Activities Association or club sport recognized by the local school district, or eighteen (18) weeks of a sport recognized by the local school district may choose to substitute participation up to one (1) credit of physical education.”

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Policy Update News

Open Meetings Law By Jess Harrison Policy & Government Affairs Director

During this legislative session there were several bills either introduced or passed regarding the Idaho Open Meetings Laws. These laws, which were originally enacted by the Idaho Legislature in 1974, are designed to ensure transparency of the legislative, decision making, and administrative processes within State and local governments. The Open Meetings Law specifies that it is the policy of the State of Idaho that the formation of public policy is public business and shall not be conducted in secret. Open meetings offer the public a chance to observe government in action and to influence government in important ways. Closed meetings can often lead to distrust of government decisions and actions and these laws are designed to encourage trust and participation in government. There are three important bills of note that passed this legislative session that affect the Open Meetings Law. These bills will also have an impact on school districts which are considered political subdivisions of the state and are therefore required to follow the Open Meetings Law when conducting the business of the district. These statutory changes will also necessitate some policy changes at the local level.

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Recodification The first bill that will have an impact on district policy did not actually change the substance of the Open Meetings Law, but rather where the law is found in Idaho Code. Recognizing a need to provide one place for citizens to find laws relating to government transparency, HB90 moves existing public record, open meetings, ethics in government, and prohibition against contracts with public officers statutes into a new title called Transparent and Ethical Government. This bill actually created an entirely new title in Idaho Code, Title 74, which will now house all of the various statutes governing how State and local governments conduct their business. Although recodification may not, at first glance, seem to merit policy changes, if your model policies reference Idaho Code then those policies will need to be updated to reflect the new statutory references. Additionally, for those board members or school district employees who need to find statutory information when responding to a public records request or reviewing the laws surrounding executive sessions, they will need to know where to find the new laws. ISBA will be updating our policies with these new code citations to assist with this transition. Additionally, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office will be updating their

Policy Update News

Open Meetings Law Manual and will have that publication revised and available by July 1st. This Manual is a great reference for school employees in finding and following the laws governing Open Meetings requirements. The Attorney General also has a Public Records Law Manual that will be updated as well to reflect the new statutory references. Both of those manuals are documents school district staff should keep close at hand. They can be found on the Attorney General’s website at: http://www. ag.idaho.gov/publications/manuals.html.

Negotiations Another statutory move that changed Idaho Code sections was in regard to the conduct of labor negotiations in Open Meetings. For the last few years, school districts were the only political subdivisions that were required to conduct collective bargaining sessions in public. This year, HB167 requires all labor negotiations between public entities and public employees be in an open meeting. The legislation was modeled after the Idaho Code Section specific to school districts and still reserves the use of executive session to consider labor contract offers, to formulate counter offers, and to discuss sensitive information about a specific employee. The bill repealed the Idaho Code section specific to school districts and now includes districts in the general statute. Further, the bill included a sunset clause to

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allow evaluation of these changes which is interesting because there was no sunset clause on the school district specific section previously.

Violations The final bill of note regarding the Open Meetings Law in Idaho was HB324 which covers violations of the Open Meetings Law. This legislation significantly increases the civil penalties for violations. The civil penalties are as follows; $250 for unintentional violations which is up from $50, $1,500 for knowing violations, and $2,500 for intentional, repeated violations which are both up from the previous $500 penalty. These changes are of note for school board members because the civil penalties are imposed directly on the public officials who violate the law, not against the public entity. Thus, the school board members and not the district would be liable for the fines for violations of the Open Meetings Law if the violations are not properly cured when they are discovered. There are provisions in the law to correct a violation and ISBA strongly recommends that districts understand the provisions of the law and how to cure an unintentional violation. ISBA will provide policy updates to our model meetings policies to help boards and superintendents ensure they are in compliance with the law.

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Idaho’s Students Win Prudential Spirit of Community Award ISBA would like to congratulate four Idaho students who are this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community Award recipients. Those recipients are:

Chandler Beard – State Honoree – Fremont Co. Jt. SD Tracie Bates-Orgill – State Honoree – Jefferson SD Addie Lutz – Distinguished Finalist – Mountain View SD Benjamin Seabourn – Distinguished Finalist – Boise Ind. SD

Every year, the top high school and middle school youth volunteers in each state are selected as State Honorees. Each receives a $1,000 award, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for several days of national recognition events. In addition, runners-up in each state are named Distinguished Finalists and receive a bronze medallion. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program is the United States’ largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. The program was created in 1995 to honor middle level and high school students for outstanding service to others at the local, state, and national level. The program’s goals are to applaud young people who already are making a positive difference in their towns and neighborhoods, and to inspire others to think about how they might contribute to their communities. To read more about these recipients and the phenomenal community work they have done and to learn more about the award, please visit the Prudential website at http://spirit.prudential.com/view/page/soc/301. Congratulations again to these award recipients!

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Linda L. Clark

Leaders of 2015

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Recognized for Leadership in Fostering Innovation

Recognizing Excellence in School District Leadership

Linda L. Clark Superintendent West Ada School District Photo: Swikar Patel/Education Week

Each year, Education Week shines a spotlight on some of the nation’s most outstanding school district leaders in its Leaders To Learn From special report. For our 2015 report, we profile 16 exceptional district-level leaders who are tackling some of the most pressing challenges in K-12 education and whose stories are packed with ideas and strategies that are yielding strong results that can be borrowed, adapted, and put to successful use in other school systems.

Idaho School District’s Scarce Resources No Barrier to Innovation By Michele Molnar

As first appeared in Education Week Leaders to Learn From (http://leaders.edweek.org) February 25, 2015. Reprinted with permission from Editorial Projects in Education. Being innovative is “sort of in my DNA,” says Linda L. Clark, the superintendent of the West Ada school system in Meridian, Idaho. “I’ve had a mantra for a long time: Make no small plans, for they have no power to stir the soul,” she said. A great-aunt often shared that philosophy, and Ms. Clark has taken it to heart as she has led the 37,000-student district—the largest in Idaho—since 2004. West Ada, which at $4,500 per pupil last year ranks among the lowest rates of funding in the nation for districts with more than 10,000 students, has drawn national attention for Ms. Clark’s ability to leverage innovation to get results with few resources. Those results are spelled out as “key performance indicators” on the district’s website—which track nine measures—from reading- and math-assessment results on the Northwest Evaluation Association’s Measures of Academic Progress to senior projects. Ms. Clark, who is 65, has been making big-picture plans as an educator for more than four decades. “I became an administrator very young, as a new elementary school principal 35 years ago,” said the 11-year superintendent. “We were first to do a lot of things.” The list she rattles off includes having the first computer lab in a school in the Northwest United States, being among the first principals to videotape teachers and meet with them to coach improved performance in 1980, and playing a role as an early educational adopter of the “continuous improvement” model used in business and making decisions based on data from key indicators.

Lessons From The Leader Communicate Often: You cannot overestimate the value and importance of communication. The bigger your operation is, the more challenging communication becomes. It’s essential that people understand all the pieces along the way and that you keep them in the loop. Involve Everyone: The leader cannot dictate from the top down. The leader has to have the vision—the big picture— and engage people in that. It takes buy-in and cooperation. It takes everyone to make that vision successful. Share the Successes: Find a lot of ways to tell the story of the process as it’s unfolding. Use the stories of success to help other people develop. “What we’re engaged in now is changing everything we know about teaching and learning, the structure of our schools, almost from the ground up,” she said. Five “superstar” teachers in West Ada were given the opportunity in 2011 to develop the 21st-century classroom of their dreams. All chose a rotational model, using laptops, iPads, and interactive whiteboards, rotating students through stations, “much the way elementary teachers have successfully taught, but now with digital tools,” Ms. Clark said. SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer 2015

SLATE Those five classroom successes became a model for 125 21st-century classrooms, and soon, six buildings in the district that will be fully digital. In this digital environment, “teaching and learning capture the power of technology,” with students taking greater responsibility for their learning and solving real-world problems, she said. “When I go to those classrooms, I see every student engaged. They’re not doing rote learning but analysis, synthesis, the higher-level thinking,” Ms. Clark said.

‘From the Ground Up’

Failure while trying such new approaches is not only an option, but an expectation, said Ms. Clark, who did her doctoral research through the University of San Francisco, visiting China to study the process of change and the role that education, economics, and leadership played in that country’s economic change in the mid-1980s. Ms. Clark “stands out in that she believes innovation does not happen at the district level,” said Sara Schapiro, the director of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, a national coalition of 57 school districts willing to share their innovation successes and setbacks. “She believes innovation happens only when teachers feel empowered to make changes in their classrooms.” West Ada was one of the original district members of the league, and as its superintendent, Ms. Clark is a charter member of the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization authorized by Congress to spur innovation in education. For instance, educators in West Ada are encouraged to apply for technology-innovation grants that will directly benefit their own classrooms. Since the 1980s, teachers have sought grants from the local education foundation. In 2009, Ms. Clark hired a part-time grant facilitator, who helps locate available funding, write grants, and track results. Within two years, Ms. Clark found that “leading edge” teachers were seeking grants for digital tools. Then the district began seeding them in 2012 to spur the digital conversion. Two or three times a year, West Ada provides a pool of $50,000 to $60,000 to award competitive grants of $2,000 to $3,000 per recipient. Teachers’ applications are blindly scored for fairness in selection. In the most recent round, $89,000 more in grant requests was submitted than there was funding to fulfill, said Ms. Clark. She saw this as evidence that the “from the ground up” grants-selection process and showcasing results has caught on, “signaling that our more reluctant teachers were now eager to begin the digital transition.” Not everyone is a fan of Ms. Clark’s approach. Penny L. Cyr, the president of the Idaho Education Association, takes exception to that way of encouraging innovation. “To force teachers to be competitive with colleagues to get ahead, that’s crazy. If you have technology money that can make it good for all students,” then it should be applied equally to all classrooms, she said. Thanks in large part to West Ada’s high-profile involvement with the League of Innovative Schools over more than three years, Ms. Clark was invited to participate on a panel about empowering teachers when more than 100 superintendents met at the White House late last year. The occasion was President Barack Obama’s launch of the “Future Ready District Pledge,” a seven-point document that defines a district’s commitment to effectively integrate technology for teaching and learning. 20

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Ms. Clark told the gathering: “Our secret sauce is our staff, our teachers,” as they work to make strides under the constraints of a tight budget. “They’re very dedicated, very hardworking.” Ms. Clark, her staff, and their innovative approaches attract visitors from across the country and abroad.

Unconventional Ideas

Steve Webb, the superintendent of the 24,000-student Vancouver, Wash., district, is sending a team to West Ada to learn about its blended learning rotation model at the elementary level this year. Ms. Clark has also collaborated with Vancouver in setting up a technology showcase, in which companies that partner with the district hold an expo to demonstrate the benefits of their partnerships with the schools. “What I appreciate most about Linda’s leadership is that she understands that culture trumps strategy,” said Mr. Webb, whose district is also a member of the innovative schools’ league. Her focus is creating “the context and conditions where ubiquitous innovation can grow and thrive,” he said. Another colleague from the league credits Ms. Clark—whom he calls “pretty unassuming”—with leading a digital transformation about as efficiently as anyone in the country. Steve C. Joel, the superintendent of the 35,000-student Lincoln district in Nebraska, said: “This is not about going out and acquiring all the nice stuff others acquire; this is about a certain philosophy of transformation and how it will augment the great work you do.” Among the more unconventional ideas Ms. Clark has shepherded to reality is the hybrid use of buildings for the district. It started when she identified a warehouse that had been vacant for four years and decided it would be a perfect place to consolidate the district’s administrative offices, which at the time were spread across 11 buildings over the district’s 380 square miles. But renovating a warehouse is a costly undertaking. Ms. Clark identified a partner in Idaho State University, which needed space. Today, the warehouse is an educational campus that houses district headquarters, a comprehensive International Baccalaureate high school with 600 students, and a professional training center that shares a lunchroom, library, and other space with the university. “There were people who thought that idea was absolutely crazy, including a former superintendent. After it opened, many of them said they were wrong,” Ms. Clark said. The next frontier for Ms. Clark? Another shared-building project with a new elementary school, the YMCA, and a local library, again spearheaded by the superintendent. The idea came after a $104 million bond issue failed narrowly. The proposed elementary school, budgeted at $12 million, would now cost $10 million, thanks to the shareduse approach. “They’ll use our computer lab. We’ll use the YMCA gym,” Ms. Clark said. This school, which is part of a $96 million March 10 school district bond issue, will have a special focus on healthy living. It’s another “large plan” that would, no doubt, make Ms. Clark’s greataunt proud. Education Week wants your input for a special report proﬁling school district leaders who have brought fresh, successful ideas to their school communities. Fill out the form at http://leaders.edweek. org/nominate/ to submit a nominee. Note that nominees should be district-level personnel. Nominations are due August 1, 2015.

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Bullying and the Law Recent court decisions emphasize the importance of identifying and responding to bullying and harassment Reprinted with permission from the American School Board Journal. April 2015, pages 60-61. http://www.nsba.org/newsroom/american-school-board-journal By: Seamus Boyce & Ryan Liffrig PEER BULLYING AND HARASSMENT of students are widely acknowledged to be a serious problem in our schools. At least one in four U.S. students say they have been bullied at school. The problem of peer harassment and bullying continues to receive considerable attention in the media, courts, state legislatures, and federal enforcement agencies including the U.S. Department Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Parents of students who are the target of bullying or harassment continue to sue schools for monetary damages—and sometimes receive significant monetary awards. This article focuses on trends involving peer bullying and harassment that school leaders should be aware of.

THE LAW AND BULLYING

School leaders should follow the requirements of their state’s anti-bullying laws. Typically, individuals are not able to sue for damages for a violation of these anti-bullying laws. But, a school’s failure to follow the requirements of a state anti-bullying statute can serve as evidence of the school’s negligence or as evidence of a school’s violation of federal anti-discrimination laws or regulations. No federal law prohibits or even defines “bullying” in schools. But, in some cases, when bullying is based on a protected class like race, sex, or disability, the behavior overlaps with harassment. Schools then are legally obliged to address it under federal anti-discrimination laws.

In recent years, federal agencies including the OCR have aggressively stepped up enforcement relating to bullying or harassment based on protected classes. These enforcement actions cannot award monetary damages against schools, but the investigation of a complaint of discriminatory harassment can occupy as much time and resources as a lawsuit.

3. A school official knew or should have known about the harassment. Under this standard, OCR can find a civil rights violation if bullying somehow limits a student’s educational opportunities, even when the school was not aware the bullying was occurring. The Education Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the OCR have reiterated and expanded on this broad liability standard in written guidance issued more recently in August 2013 and October 2014. Fortunately, when it comes to monetary lawsuits against a school, the courts have adopted a much higher bar for what constitutes a violation of federal civil rights laws by a school in addressing student peer harassment.

The best way to prevent a lawsuit is for the school and community to prevent bullying in the first place. An investigation that finds a violation can require a school to enter into costly systematic programing changes and can impose ongoing reporting, record keeping, and staff training requirements.

The federal courts apply a standard stemming from the Supreme Court’s 1999 decision in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education. Under this standard, a school may be liable for peer harassment only if:

The OCR has developed relatively relaxed standards for determining when a school’s response to peer bullying or harassment violates federal civil rights laws. The OCR has explained that it will find a violation of civil rights laws where:

• • •

The harassment was severe and pervasive and deprived the student of access to educational benefits;

•

The school officials knew of the harassment; and

1. The bullying or harassment is severe, pervasive, or persistent; 2. The harassment interfered with or limited the student’s education benefits or opportunities; and

The student is within a protected category (race, sex, disability, etc.); The student was harassed because of the protected trait;

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•

The school officials were deliberately indifferent to the harassment.

It is difficult for parents or students to prove all of these elements, particularly that a school was deliberately indifferent to known harassment. EXAMPLES FROM THE COURTS With the growing public concern about the effects of bullying, the OCR and parents of bullying victims have encouraged federal courts to apply looser liability standards in monetary lawsuits against schools for peer harassment. A few courts have applied the strict standard from the Davis case more loosely-making it easier for students to prevail in peer bullying lawsuits against schools. For example, in Zeno v. Pin Plains Central School District (2d Cir. 2012), a biracial student attending a predominantly white high school was subjected to frequent racially harassing comments and bullying over three years. He was called racial slurs, was told by other students that “We don’t want your kind here; faced multiple references to lynching, and received numerous threats.”

Although some school districts have been held liable for student bullying and harassment under various legal theories, many courts continue to dismiss peer bullying claims against schools where the evidence shows that the school was not clearly indifferent to the bullying. For example, in Long v. Murray County School District, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a case in which a 17-yearold student with Asperger’s Syndrome committed suicide after he was subjected to numerous instances of bullying at his school. When the student’s parents reported concerns to the district, school officials took prompt action, and disciplined harassers when the conduct could be verified. It took steps to prevent future harm, such as putting teachers on notice of the situation, and providing an escort to the student in response to reports of bullying on the bus. The court found that the school could not be liable because officials responded to each reported bullying incident and were not deliberately indifferent to the bullying.

The district suspended the perpetrators; hired a consultant to study the community and develop ways to increase diversity awareness; organized a mediation among the student, his family, the perpetrators, and their respective parents; and invited a company to provide daylong assemblies focused on respect, bullying, and prejudice to students, faculty, and staff.

LESSONS FROM THE FIELD The law relating to school liability for student-on-student bullying is complex and liability often depends on the facts of an individual case. Schools can reduce their liability by implementing best practices to prevent and respond to bullying and harassment.

However, the court allowed a jury to decide whether the school was “deliberately indifferent” to the harassment. The jury returned an award for $1.25 million in damages. An appeals court upheld the verdict because the student was subjected to actionable harassment that deprived him of educational benefits, and because the district had “dragged its feet” before implementing its responses, which were characterized as “half-hearted:’

•

Having in place clear policies that prohibit bullying and harassment, and provide procedures for investigating and effectively addressing bullying and harassment.

•

Having a system to track reports of bullying to identify trends and possible repeat perpetrators and victims before the bullying gets out of hand.

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These best practices include:

•

Investigating every complaint of bullying or harassment.

•

If bullying or harassment is found, taking prompt and effective steps reasonably calculated to end the bullying or harassment, eliminate any hostile environment, and prevent its recurrence.

•

Make sure that bullying-related information is communicated between buildings and grades.

Many courts will dismiss cases against a school for student-on-student bullying if a school can show that it took reasonable steps to respond to all of the bullying of which the school knew.

Seamus Boyce (seamus@cchalaw.com)

is a partner with Church Church Hittle & Antrim, Noblesville, Indiana.

Ryan Liffrig (rliffrig@cchalaw.com)

is an associate with Church Church Hittle & Antrim, Noblesville, Indiana.

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Career Ladder Framework Essential to Improving Education

By C.L. “Butch” Otter Governor of Idaho

The career ladder for teacher pay approved by the 2015 Idaho Legislature is an historic change in how the State allocates funds to school districts for teacher salaries. The new compensation model bases salaries on teacher proficiency rather than only on years of service and education credits. That shifts the focus from inputs to outcomes, not only enabling Idaho to increase teacher pay to attract and retain the best and brightest, but also to improve teacher effectiveness. In addition to considerable increases in base salary, teachers will be eligible for additional compensation for attaining more education, specifically credits or endorsements and master’s degrees. This will provide teachers with the qualifications to become dual credit or advanced placement instructors and to take additional teaching assignments needed in their districts. Teachers also will have the opportunity to earn leadership premiums for serving their districts in areas such as curriculum development, mentoring and college and career advising. While details are still being decided, the career ladder also includes a master teacher premium to reward educators who achieve great results in the classroom. By emphasizing teacher proficiency – as determined by the statewide teacher evaluation – and including student growth measures determined at the local level, we will have an accountability system that provides incentives for teachers to progress in their profession. The rewards are significant, and the career ladder will be vital in attracting and retaining highly effective educators. The bottom-line result will be higher achievement and success for Idaho students. Beyond improving student outcomes, the career ladder will increase school districts’ fiscal stability. My Task Force for Improving Education identified the method we have been using to compensate teachers as a main factor creating fiscal instability for districts. Increasing salary apportionment through the career ladder will help districts that now rely on supplemental property tax levies to meet their salary schedules to compete for the best teachers with other districts and neighboring states. It was a tough process reaching a consensus on legislation meeting the spirit of my Task Force’s recommendations while addressing concerns from teachers and administrators. I greatly appreciate the role that the Idaho School Boards Association played throughout the process. Trustees who participated on the Task Force and its implementation committees and the work of your excellent staff helped us reach a successful outcome. The five-year implementation of the career ladder will require continued support from all stakeholders. I am confident that school districts will make successful transitions to the new framework and will provide policy makers with feedback on how it can be improved. I appreciate the ISBA’s continued participation in the work still ahead to implement the career ladder and the other recommendations of the Task Force. With your help, we are making meaningful and lasting improvements to our education system.

The people of Idaho re-elected C.L. “Butch” Otter as their Governor for a third time on November 4, 2014. He previously served three terms in Congress representing Idaho’s 1st District from 2001 through 2006. When he was elected to Congress, Governor Otter was serving his fourth term as Idaho’s Lieutenant Governor. He served in that office longer than anyone in Idaho history. He previously represented the people of Canyon County in the Idaho House of Representatives for two terms from 1973 to 1976. Governor Otter was born in Caldwell on May 3, 1942. He graduated from St. Teresa’s Academy (now Bishop Kelly High School) in Boise, attended Boise Junior College (now Boise State University), and received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the College of Idaho in 1967. He served honorably in the Idaho Army National Guard’s 116th Armored Cavalry from 1968 to 1973. Governor Otter is a father of four and grandfather of seven. He is married to the former Lori Easley of Kimberly. They live on their ranch near Star.

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We Need Your Award Nominations! Do You Know Someone Who Shows True Dedication To Public Education? Nominate Them For A Citizenship Award. Each year ISBA recognizes two exceptional individuals from our State whose contributions to education are outstanding. One award is presented to a certificated educator while the other is presented to a non-certificated individual, such as a volunteer, a community member, or classified staff.

Nominations due by October 1, 2015.

SMANSH

ARD

TER OF

Have You Participated In The Master of Boardsmanship Award Program Submit An Application To Receive Recognition!

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The Master of Boardsmanship Award is granted upon completion of an application process that demonstrates both boardmanship basics and effectiveness of the six standards of school board operations; governance, continuous improvement, advocacy, accountability, community engagement, and training. For more information on this award, visit the ISBA website under the Board Training tab.

ISBA

Please submit your Application by October 1, 2015.

Do You Know Someone who was involved in the 2015 Legislative Session? Nominate Them For A Legislative Liaison Award. Every year school board members and superintendents spend a great deal of time advocating to local, state, and national leaders in support of public education. This award is given to an individual whose efforts and participation with ISBA during the legislative session should be recognized and applauded.

Nominations due by October 1, 2015.

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Awards Will Be Presented At The ISBA Annual Convention November 11-13, 2015 Download nomination forms at www.idsba.org. Please submit via email, fax, or mail. Email: misty@idsba.org . Fax: (208) 854-1480 . PO Box 9797, Boise, ID 83707-4797

ISBA Annual Convention November 11-13, 2015 Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Coeur d’Alene Resort

Stronger Together Forward Together

does your district have student

TALENT

Encourage Them To Perform At The Annual ISBA Convention! ISBA is proud to showcase student performing arts groups during the ISBA 73rd Annual Convention. Inviting students to participate helps remind us why over 500 board members volunteer to serve the children of their communities. In years past we have enjoyed a variety of student performances including bands, jazz bands, choirs, orchestras, dancers, and thespians. All groups were extremely well-received by the audience. This tradition will continue at the 73rd Annual Convention, November 11-13, at the Coeur d’Alene Resort by inviting student groups to perform. Student performance groups will be announced in late September. Please visit www.idsba.org for further information, including the application form. Please apply by August 25, 2015. SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer 2015

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Dual Credit Makes Sense for Idaho High School Students

By Dr. John Miller Instructional Dean Off-Campus Education College of Southern Idaho

By Karrie Hornbacher Coordinator for Accelerated Learning College of Southern Idaho

Programs to support high school students as they engage in dual credit coursework, as evidenced in the Idaho Advanced Opportunities Program and particularly in the Fast Forward funding initiative, highlight the importance placed by educators and legislators alike on expanding dual credit opportunities for high school students in Idaho. Dual credit, which has been delivered to Idaho high school students in some form for the past 20 years, is college coursework taken by a high school student for which the student earns both college and high school credit. Courses are most often offered on the high school campus, as well as directly from a college or university through a number of delivery options available to high school students in Idaho. Dual credit programs are successful in Idaho because the program serves a wide range of student interests and abilities. In short, dual credit offers something for everyone involved. Dual credit coursework enables students to make substantial progress toward college degrees before they finish high school, saving students both time and money in the process. With the ever-rising cost of college, avoiding wasted time and additional costs can prove critical in keeping the cost of a higher education down for Idaho students.

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Based on 2012 reporting, students who rely on Federal Financial Aid and complete a Bachelor’s Degree at a public college or university in the United States now leave college with an average of $25,000 in debt (College Board Survey, 2013). Taking advantage of dual credit opportunities is a good way for students (and their parents) to avoid part of this average debt, take advantage of the reduced tuition rate enjoyed by high school students in Idaho, and work toward degree or certificate completion even faster at their college of choice. With increased funding from the state, federal grant assistance, and the good efforts of nearly every college foundation to provide scholarship dollars for needful high school students, it is no wonder that Idaho is experiencing unprecedented growth in the number of high school students taking advantage of dual credit programs and in the number of credits they are taking from Idaho colleges. This growth is being experienced by all Idaho’s public colleges/universities, as well as our long-time partner in education from the private sector, Northwest Nazarene University. As the old saying goes, with growth comes “growing pains”. In this case, dual credit programs around the state are no exception to that old adage. With this growth, school districts and their high schools that receive dual credit programming, as well as the colleges that provide it, have experienced staffing and workflow issues in processing dual credit registrations and payments, scheduling dual credit classes, and advising students about dual credit opportunities. In short, continuing growth in dual credit, which seems to be a likely possibility for school districts and their partners in higher education given recent trends, will further stretch available resources and make availability and service gaps occur more often. To deal with growth in dual credit across Idaho and the challenges to quality and accessibility associated with that growth, it will be critical in coming years that a firm foundation of cooperation be maintained between the legislature, school districts/high schools, higher education, and parents/students as the ultimate “end users” of dual credit. Elements of funding to support programs at the high school and college level, affordability for all Idaho students, accessibility and equal opportunity for high school students, whether they attend a rural or urban school, are all pieces of the dual credit puzzle that will require discussion, debate, and constant attention. All of the stakeholders mentioned above need to resist the urge to put dual credit programs on “cruise control” and just assume it is someone else’s business and responsibility for this critical program to continue to operate cohesively. We are long past the time, and well past the size, that dual credit can be considered a “college only” program, in fact, it is now a statewide initiative and merits attention from us all. If we fail to keep dual credit programs across the state firmly in our sights as perhaps the single best way to increase the college-going population of Idaho, to close the education gap between “haves and have not’s,” and to support student success, we forego a unique opportunity to streamline and improve the education pipeline in this state for the current population and generations to come.

School Programs Focus on Good Nutrition to Help Students Perform Better Academically SLATE

By: Cindy Miller, Senior Director Consumer Confidence & Producer Relations, Idaho Dairy Council For the United Dairymen of Idaho (UDI) and the Idaho Dairy Council (IDC), partnerships with schools, nutrition programs, and universities reinforce our commitment to enhancing the health and wellness of Idaho’s communities. We commend the many people throughout Idaho who work hard to improve the nutrition, fitness, and health of our students and community members. Research is clear about the correlation between good nutrition, physical activity, and academic success. Finding a balance between academic rigor and health and wellness efforts in the school environment is an increasing priority. To that end, Idaho’s dairy farm families are committed to ensuring kids have the proper nutrition information and products to grow both physically and mentally. “I’m proud to represent Idaho’s dairy farm families,” UDI CEO Karianne Fallow says. “As we observe National Dairy Month this June, we celebrate the $1.5 million Idaho’s dairy farm families provide to school initiatives across the State every year. Their investment translates to generous grants, scholarships, and other youth wellness initiatives to ensure access to nutrition curriculum, resource materials, and nourishing dairy products that can improve the health of Idahoans.” Experts recommend three servings of dairy per day, and Idaho’s dairy farmers believe school nutrition programs play an integral role in developing healthy, lifelong food-consumption patterns. Choosing nutrient-rich foods like low-fat and fat-free milk products is the best way to build a healthy diet. Both adults and children are at risk of poor health – missing out on important nutrients because they are not choosing nutrient-rich foods first. We need to do more than simply count calories to improve public health — we need to make each calorie count. “Schools in Idaho face tremendous challenges to meet economic, health, and academic demands, and many lack the funds to execute wellness policies,” IDC Senior Director of Health and Wellness Crystal Wilson, Ed. S., RDN, LD, says. “Our mission is to provide educators and health professionals with resources to build healthy environments within schools that help students perform better academically.” United Dairymen of Idaho and the Idaho Dairy Council support many educational and health-focused programs, including: • Dairy Does Good — We provide string cheese for each student in participating schools every day they take an ISAT or SBAC test. Research shows students who eat breakfast perform better on tests and have improved memory and concentration. • Refuel With Chocolate Milk — We provide participating athletic programs with milk coolers and chocolate milk for athletes. Emerging research suggests drinking milk can be an effective way to help the body refuel and recover after exercise.

• Idaho High School Activities Association support — We provide scholarships and products for both participants and spectators. • Exploring Dairy in the Classroom — We reimburse Idaho educators who purchase dairy products to enhance the nutrition lessons they provide to grade school students. Our goal is to provide a nutrient-rich dairy product for students to enjoy while learning about nutrition. • Foodservice Strategies — We offer schools a choice of equipment to use in cafeterias to meet program needs and opportunities to increase breakfast and lunch participation. • School curriculum — We provide nutrition curriculum for Idaho schools, ranging from prekindergarten through 12th grade, at no cost. • Fuel Up to Play 60 — We empower students to take charge in making small, everyday healthy eating and physical activity changes at school through our partnership with the NFL and the National Dairy Council. • 4H and FFA support — We offer sponsorships and scholarships to students pursuing specific programs related to dairy practices and food sciences. Beyond these programs, UDI and IDC support a wide range of school initiatives through which Idaho’s dairy farm families continue to give back to students and educators each year. We also work with institutions of higher learning. UDI sponsors Idaho State University’s (ISU) dietary science program, University of Idaho’s (UI) College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and student-athlete nutrition for ISU, UI, and Boise State University. Meanwhile, IDC leverages these partnerships to help build a community of people working for the greater good of Idaho’s future leaders. Everyone at United Dairymen of Idaho and Idaho Dairy Council is passionate about the work we perform on behalf of the 516 family owned and operated dairy farms, which help feed the world safe, nutritious food. Like Kuna dairy farmer John Wind says, “It’s important the milk on a family’s table came from a good community of hard-working Idaho dairymen. We do everything we can to make sure it’s a quality product.” Please celebrate with us and power up your plate with nutrient-rich foods.

The United Dairymen of Idaho (UDI) promotes and advocates for Idaho dairy farm families through nutrition counseling, sponsorships, and marketing campaigns. UDI is also the parent organization to both the Idaho Dairy Council and the Idaho Dairymen’s Association. For more information, visit www.idahodairy.org.

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LEGISLATIVE By Jess Harrison Policy & Government Affairs Director

WRAP-UP

An Overview of The 2015 Legislative Session As legislative sessions go, this year was a really good one for education! The public education budget was the best we’ve seen in years. Public schools received a $101.2 million overall increase from last year’s budget or 7.4%. We also saw the first phase of funding for the five year plan to raise teachers’ salaries and a $33.2 million ongoing appropriation from the General Fund for operational funds. That is $23,868/support unit or a 6.5% increase over the current year which gets us about half way back to where we were before the downturn in the economy. The budget also includes a $16.1 million ongoing appropriation for teacher leadership premium awards, $13.2 million for teacher professional development, and $13 million for classroom technology which is a 66% increase over the previous year. Administrators, pupil services staff, and classified staff all received a 3% increase in the funding for their salaries above last year. Finally, the funding for FY2016 is calculated based on 167 support units (117 units for estimated growth plus 50 units to address the deficit in FY2015). This is a much more solid number for support units than we have seen in the past. Of course, one cannot recap this session without discussing the monumental career ladder legislation. There was a point when we really believed it might not happen this year, but in the late hours of the session, all the stakeholders came together and were able to support the final bill, HB296, that established a career ladder compensation system for instructional staff. This year was also about some of the legislation that ISBA helped prevent from passing. ISBA was integral in stopping legislation that would have prevented schools from regulating knives on their campuses, would have granted even more extensive “parental rights” than the bill that did pass, and tax reduction legislation that would have had a $50-$70 million annual impact on the General Fund. Here is all of the legislation that did pass this session that will have an impact on public education in Idaho: HB76 Emergency Levy Calculation The purpose of this legislation is to allow emergency school levies to be assessed on the current equalized valuation of such taxable property instead of the base assessment roll. By doing

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so, property tax paid for school emergency levies will go to the school district instead of the urban renewal agencies. This affects school districts that have an Urban Renewal District in their school district. HB90 Open Meetings Law Recodification Recognizing a need to provide one place for citizens to find laws relating to government transparency, this bill moves existing public record, open meeting, ethics in government, and prohibition against contracts with officers statutes into a new title called Transparent and Ethical Government. HB110 Mastery Based Education The Governor’s Task Force for Improving Education recommends a shift to a system where students advance based upon content mastery, rather than seat time requirements. In an initial effort, this legislation authorizes the State Department of Education to perform the following activities: 1) Conduct a statewide awareness campaign to promote understanding and interest, 2) Establish a committee of educators to identify roadblocks and possible solutions, and 3) Facilitate the development of an incubator program with an initial cohort of local education agency participants. HB113 Parental Rights This bill states, in part, that “Parents who have legal custody of any minor child or children have the fundamental right and duty to make decisions concerning their education, including the right to cause the child to be educated in any manner authorized under Section 33-202, Idaho Code, and Section 9, Article IX, of the Constitution of the State of Idaho.” ISBA has grave concerns about the possible impact of this legislation at the local level. HB122 This bill clarifies that the continuous improvement aspects of the required planning will be used rather than a traditional strategic planning process. Additionally, the reimbursement amount would be increased to $4,000 per district or charter school for approved school board member training and the date the plans are required to be posted has been moved to October 1.

SLATE HB167 Open Negotiations The purpose of this legislation is to require that labor negotiations for public employees be conducted in open session. It still reserves the use of executive session to consider labor contract offers, to formulate counter offers, and to discuss sensitive information about a specific employee. It repeals the code section specific to school district negotiations and puts in place similar requirements for all public entities, including school districts. HB168 Broadband Appropriation This is an FY 2015 supplemental appropriation to the Superintendent of Public Instruction to pay for broadband services and internet connectivity for the remainder of the 2014 - 2015 school year through June 30, 2015. Invoices for services rendered through June 30, 2015 may be paid during the month of July 2015. HB169 One Year Master Agreements This legislation lifts a sunset clause and provides for a one year duration of all school district master agreements consistent with the timing of and duration of the fiscal year of the school. Items with regard to salaries, benefits, and any items with a direct or indirect cost to the school district’s budget are only one year, however a two year duration for non-financial items is allowable if agreed to between a public school district or public charter school and the professional personnel of the district/ charter.

HB190 Criminal History Check Fees Idaho Code § 33-130 requires criminal history checks for all school district employees having contact with children. The Idaho State Department of Education (SDE) is charged with the administration of the program. The per investigation fee set by statute has been $40.00. Because the FBI and the Idaho State Police cost of services fluctuate over time this legislation seeks to allow costs not under the control of the SDE to be collected while shifting the administrative costs incurred by the SDE to the General Fund in an ongoing appropriation. HB219 Bond and Levy Disclosures This amendment to Section 34-439, Idaho Code is to ensure that all relevant information relating to a bond election is placed on the ballot prior to the location on the ballot where a person casts a vote. HB220 Education Tax Credit Previously, Idaho Code temporarily increased the existing income tax credit for donations to certain organizations, including elementary and secondary education institutions. Those increases were set to sunset January 1, 2016 and this legislation will remove the sunset. The current language allows for the tax credit to equal 50% of the aggregate amount of charitable contributions, up to 50% of the aggregate amount of charitable

HB170 Pay for Success Contracting The purpose of this legislation is to establish pay for success contracting in Idaho. The new code allows the state to enter into agreements with private entities whereby the entity bears the sole burden of financing the cost of a program. The state does not pay any program costs up front. As a part of the contracting process, the parties agree to specific metrics to measure the effectiveness of the program. Only if the contractor meets the predetermined benchmarks and can show that the program has been cost-effective is the state obligated to reimburse program costs. The reimbursements are made from the cost savings to the state as a result of the successful program.

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SLATE contributions, up to 50% of an individual taxpayer’s total Idaho income tax liability and a maximum annual amount of $500 ($1,000 on a jointly-filed return). The legislation also clarifies the relationship between independent foundations and the elementary and secondary education institutions they financially support through contributions eligible for the tax credit. HB245 Foreign Exchange Students This legislation will allow foreign exchange students enrolled under a cultural exchange program to apply for enrollment in nonsectarian courses offered by postsecondary institutions. They are currently prohibited from doing so. HB246 Bullying, Harassment, and Intimidation This bill codifies in law what the majority of school districts are already doing: distributing policies and providing staff professional development to address bullying. It provides for inclusion of anti-bullying content in staff training and orientations to help staff recognize and most appropriately intervene should bullying occur. It also specifies a role for school superintendents and principals in informing staff and students through student hand books and other means that bullying is prohibited and to convey what constitutes bullying to further ensure all are aware of school district policy. HB296 Career Ladder Establishes a funding model for school districts for instructional staff that would be variable based on a compensation system consisting of two rungs: the residency compensation rung and the professional compensation rung. Movement between rungs would depend on instructional staff meeting the applicable performance criteria and obtaining a professional endorsement. The performance criteria uses the existing statewide evaluation framework and student achievement or growth targets established at the district level. Districts would select measures of student achievement or growth from a predefined list. In addition to the compensation rung allotment, districts would be eligible for two additional levels of funding for instructional staff holding a professional endorsement and who have received additional credits or degrees. The amendments include a five year implementation plan that would place teachers into a cohort based on the current salary allotment for them and then provide incremental increases each year until full implementation in July 2020. New teachers would be placed in the first cell on the residency rung and will move up the rungs based on years of service and ability to meet performance criteria. Teachers who cannot obtain the professional endorsement will retain their certificate and be able to teach, but will not be eligible for a renewable contract or movement to the professional compensation rung until such time as they earn the professional endorsement. Current teachers with three or more years of holding a certificate would automatically receive the professional endorsement. HB300 6th Grade Alternative School Funding Currently, funding for alternative education is established for 7th through 12th grades. A number of school districts have 6th through 8th grade middle school configurations. This legislation would establish alternative school funding for 6th graders to allow schools to identify and provide interventions for students one year earlier and help at-risk students to be more prepared for 7th grade. This legislation will become effective for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.

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HB302 STEM Action Center This legislation establishes a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Action Center. The STEM Action Center will drive student experience, engagement, and industry alignment to allow Idaho’s students competitive employment opportunities within the STEM workforce pipeline. The STEM Action Center administrator will be the state official who designates, coordinates, oversees, and promotes STEM programs and best practices. The Action Center and the administrator will ensure the State’s STEM efforts are connected with industry goals and Idaho’s long-term economic prosperity. HB309 Charter School Debt Reserve The public charter school debt reserve establishes a fund in the State Treasury. Qualifying public charter schools that demonstrate good financial management, with oversight by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, could use the fund as a backstop to assure private lenders that, should the school default on a payment, a portion of the missed payment could be withdrawn from the fund. This assurance will induce lenders to offer lower-interest rates on loans, resulting in savings of public dollars to the school over the life of the loan. HB313 Counselors This legislation adds language to Section 33-1002, Idaho Code allowing Education Support Program funds to be used toward academic and college or career advising. The legislation further adds clarity to the current definition of “School Counselors” defining academic and college or career advisors and specifies advising programs that have already been tested and found to be effective in Idaho. The proposed changes clarify that school districts may use either certificated counselors and teachers or non-certificated staff to serve as college or career advisors, and that regardless of the staff used, those serving as college or career advisors must have received some training in this area. The new section also requires notification to students and their parents of the availability of advising and requires that school districts report annually on the effectiveness of their programs. HB314 ESEA Waiver Idaho’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility document (waiver) expires June 30, 2015. The purpose of the waiver is to waive the obligations of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The Idaho State Department of Education is submitting changes to the flexibility document (waiver). The State Board of Education has approved the current submission. This legislation provides justification for systematic review and amendments to the waiver. It is intended by the Legislature that in all future amendments to the waiver, the maximum flexibility for the State is expected. HB324 Open Meeting Law Violations This legislation increases the civil penalties for violations of the State Open Meeting Law. The civil penalties are as follows; $250 for unintentional violations, $1,500 for knowing violations, and $2,500 for intentional, repeated violations. HCR003 Education Data System Study This legislation provides for a legislative task force to study student data collection, specifically: 1) which data points are necessary for tracking student academic process; 2) which data points must be collected at the aggregate level; 3) which data points should be personally identifiable and why; 4) the extent to which

SLATE federal funding is contingent upon the collection and reporting of student data to the federal government and the cost to the State of declining such funding, and 5) recommendations on (a) simplifying and minimizing the collection of student data without compromising essential evaluation of education efficacy; (b) protecting student privacy by limiting the collection of personally identifiable data, and (c) the cost/benefit of declining federal funds to save local funds, protect privacy, and maintain local control of education as they relate to data collection. SB1018 Teacher Certification Fees This legislation eliminates the administrative burden of maintaining two funds for the practical administration of a single program – teacher certification. One fund dedicated wholly to the teacher certification program will be established. This legislation does not attempt to change the fee. SB1021 Charter School Authorizer Fees Previous legislation established that “each public charter school shall pay an authorizer fee to its authorized chartering entity, to defray the actual documented cost of monitoring, evaluation and oversight.” This legislation amends the authorizer fee formula for schools authorized by the Public Charter School Commission to include only those funds appropriated from the Public Charter School Authorizers fund rather than all appropriated moneys. SB1050 Advanced Opportunities This legislation consolidates the separate sections of code pertaining to advanced opportunities for secondary students into a single chapter. Additional changes remove the 75% cap and convert the dollar amount cap to the number of credits for cost reimbursement for juniors and seniors receiving funds for dual credit courses that are not participating in the program known as “Dual Credit for Early Completers”, clarify that policies for participation created at the district level must include timelines that are in alignment with State reporting and reimbursement requirements, clarify that the community college out-of-district tuition payment made by counties pursuant to Section 33-2110A, Idaho Code would be covered by program funds, remove the 10% cap on the participation limits for the “8 in 6” program, clarify that for the “8 in 6” program public school includes Idaho Bureau of Indian Education schools for the purpose of this program. Finally, this legislation amends the definition of “full course load” for the “8 in 6” program to twelve credits.

SB1087 Charter School Admissions This bill provides the continuance of charter school attendance from the elementary or middle school grades to the high school grades. The changes allow for a student who has attended one charter school to be given preference for enrollment purposes after siblings of students already attending the school, but before other students residing within the primary attendance area of the school. This is a means by which a charter school student can continue to have a charter school experience by having preferred admission privileges to attend another charter school within the State. The charter school student must have attended another charter school in the State for at least one year before they are eligible for this admission preference and there is a written admission preference agreement between the sending and receiving charter schools. SB1088 Reduction in Force During the 2013 legislative session, House Bill 261 and Senate Bill 1040a were passed that dealt with Reductions in Force, a school district’s ability to reduce a teacher’s salary or the length of the contract from one year to the next, and requires all teachers’ contracts to be signed by July 1 of each year. Both bills included a one year sunset clause. Those sunset clauses were extended in 2014 for one more year under Senate Bills 1317 and 1319. This bill removes those sunset clauses and adds some additional criteria for Reductions in Force. SB1097 Repeal of Transportation Audits This legislation repeals Section 33-1006A, Idaho Code which states the State Department of Education shall audit the transportation operations of any school district with more than twenty (20) enrolled students per square mile meeting other certain criteria. SB1183, SB1184, SB1185, SB1186, SB1187, SB1188, and SB1189 Public Schools Appropriation Bills These are the appropriation bills for the public schools budget. They contain an overall 7.4% increase for public education.

SB1071 Civics Test The purpose of this legislation is to require Idaho students to pass a test on 100 basic facts of United States history and civics taken from the United States Citizenship Civics Test – the same test that all immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship must pass. This legislation allows individual schools to administer the test in a way the school deems as adequate to ensure the requirements are followed. Students may take the test any time after enrolling in grade seven and may repeat the test as many times as necessary to pass. SB1072 School Trustee Campaign Disclosures This legislation requires candidates for school board trustee positions to file sunshine reports for their campaigns, except for elections of trustees in a school district that has fewer than five hundred (500) students. These disclosures will be filed with the County Clerk of the county wherein the district lies or, in the case of a joint district, with the county clerk of the home county. SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer 2015

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JOB DESCRIPTION SERVICE INCLUDES 100+ POSITIONS!

The ISBA Job Descriptions Manual provides qualifications, reporting structures, job goals, scope of responsibilities, and more for the many jobs in your district. Each job description includes citations of any state laws or administrative rules pertaining to the qualifications, contract length, and evaluation for the position.

Full Set of Job Descriptions

Individual Job Descriptions

The full set of job descriptions includes more than 100 certified, classified, and administrative positions. They are in editable Word document form to allow you to customize them to meet the needs of your district.

Individual job descriptions can also be purchased. Just specify which description you need.

$425

Email April Hoy at april@idsba.org for a complete listing of the positions for which we have descriptions.

START

Do you have a problem or issue at your school district that you want changed? Can this be changed by State Law or Administrative Rule?

$45 each

If yes, prepare a Resolution to be submitted to ISBA. A Resolution is a document that explains the problem and what outcome you would like.

The Process of Resolutions Each year at the Idaho School Boards Association Convention, board members assemble to consider resolutions submitted by the membership. These resolutions are the voice of the membership and an effective means of providing guidance for ISBA. All resolutions received by July 31, 2015 are reviewed by the ISBA Government Affairs Committee. It is not necessary to submit resolutions dealing with positions to which the ISBA is already committed from last year’s legislative program. (Resolutions remain on ISBA’s legislative agenda for two years following its approval by the membership.) The ISBA Government Affairs Committee will make recommendations to the Executive Board on the resolutions and the Executive Board will make recommendations to the membership. The membership then votes on the resolutions at the Business Session of the Annual Convention. ISBA welcomes your participation in this process and urges you to take this opportunity to be heard.

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from Start to Finish

Some Resolutions are passed and some are not passed by the members. Those Resolutions that passed become the legislative platform for ISBA staff and lobbyists during the Legislative Session.

During the Legislative Session, ISBA staff request legislators to help “carry” the legislation (Resolutions) and present them to both the House and Senate.

If the legislation (Resolution) passes the House and Senate then it goes to the Governor to be signed into law.

Resolutions Must be Submitted by July 31, 2015

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How To Submit

Resolution Checklist

PSend a copy to your Region Chair; PSend a copy to the ISBA Office by fax to (208) 854-1480 or by mail to P.O. Box 9797, Boise, Idaho 83707-4797; and

Include these elements:

PDistrict / Charter name;ISBA Region number; mailing address; subject and presenter.

PAt least one reasoning statement starting with “Whereas”. PEmail a copy to Jess Harrison at jessica@idsba.org PA complete statement of purpose If you would like to receive a sample resolution, contact Jessica Harrison by email at Jessica@idsba.org or (208) 854-1476 or PConclude with a summarizing statement beginning with toll free (866) 799-ISBA (4722). “Now, therefore be it resolved...”

If you have any questions about the procedure for submitting or drafting resolutions, please contact Karen Echeverria, Executive Director: (208) 854-1476 or toll free (866) 799-ISBA (4722).

Submit the Resolution to the ISBA Office no later than July 31st. If you would like help writing the Resolution or have questions, contact the ISBA Office.

Throughout the month of August, ISBA will review all Resolutions and may contact you for clarification.

AUG

All Resolutions are presented to the ISBA Executive Board during its September Board Meeting. There, the Board reviews all Resolutions and votes on each Resolution with a “do pass”, “do not pass”, or “no recommendation”.

During the ISBA Annual Convention in November, the Business Session is held where member districts can debate and vote on each Resolution.

All Resolutions are sent to ISBA membership via email and posted on the ISBA website. Boards should review each of the Resolutions and discuss the pros and cons of the Resolutions. Boards should choose a position to take on each Resolution.

sep

2015 Resolution Timeline

This is how your Resolution can ultimately become law and help your school district and many others in the State.

FINISH

July 31

Resolutions due from school board members, districts, charter

schools, or regions

August 1-15 August 18-29

ISBA staff compiles and clarifies submitted resolutions Board packets containing proposed resolutions are sent to the ISBA Executive Board for review

September 11-12 ISBA Executive Board reviews resolutions and makes recommendations Sept. - Oct.

Resolutions are discussed and debated at fall region meetings

October 14

Deadline to transmit resolution packets to school board members

November 13

School board members vote on resolutions at the ISBA Annual Convention Business Session

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UP STAND 4

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IDAHO

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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Libraries, Schools, and Others Work to Minimize the Summer Slide By: Stephanie Bailey-White, Idaho Commission for Libraries

By the time you read this article, public libraries throughout the State will be knee-deep in summer reading programs and outreach efforts. This is usually the busiest time of year for them as they work to help students maintain the reading gains made during the school year while providing fun activities that draw kids of all ages into the library during their summer vacation. The Idaho Commission for Libraries (ICfL), a state agency charged with building the capacity of libraries to better serve their clientele, has worked with public and some school libraries for over 50 years to provide resources and support to strengthen summer programs and reach more children who may have barriers in participating. Last year over 45,000 children participated in summer reading programs offered in nearly every one of the 143 public libraries in Idaho. While that number represents a big chunk of Idaho students and preschoolers, ICfL staff took a careful look at the data from public libraries partnering with elementary schools serving a high percentage of low-income students and found that fewer than 20 percent of the children in most of those schools were participating in public library summer reading programs. “Those are the kids who are most at risk of losing reading skills over the summer if they don’t have access to books,” ICfL Summer Reading Coordinator Staci Shaw

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said. “If only two out of every ten elementary students are participating in summer reading, we are going to be spinning our wheels in these communities. The cumulative effect of low-income children who don’t read for pleasure summer after summer is an achievement gap that can be as wide as four years by the time they get through high school. We have to find other ways to ensure they are reading for pleasure during those months.” Working closely with Boise State University Literacy Professor Dr. Roger Stewart, staff at the ICfL launched a pilot program last year to keep six elementary schools open over the summer and provided K-2 students in three of those schools with six paperback books the students selected themselves during the last weeks of school. These research-based strategies come from Richard Allington and Anne McGill-Franzen’s Summer Reading: Closing the Rich/ Poor Reading Achievement Gap, a book that has been widely shared in trainings for public and school librarians. Allington asserts that summer reading loss accounts for roughly 80 percent of the rich/poor reading achievement gap, yet far too little attention is given to this pressing problem. While Idaho Reading Indicator scores didn’t budge during the first year of the ICfL’s Summer Slide pilot program, new strategies and efforts in Year 2 of the program are

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ICfL VISTA Volunteer Levi Orr reads to children during last year’s Literacy in the Park program. in place and staff members are optimistic that more students will minimize their summer slide this year. Participating schools are Horizon Elementary in Jerome, Mountain View Elementary in Burley, Desert Sage Elementary in the West Ada School District, Wilson Elementary in Caldwell, and Fernan Elementary in Coeur d’Alene. Focus groups with parents and work done in past years to increase participation found that many parents do not understand how crucial it is for children to spend time outside of the school day reading. Radio public service announcements in English and Spanish began airing statewide in April and will run through June to help convey the importance of out of school reading time. (You can listen to the 30-second ads at http://libraries. idaho.gov/page/summer-reading-resources.) Students who only read in school will rarely be great readers. The time spent in school is usually enough time to learn to read, but not nearly enough time for most kids to become proficient at reading. “The radio ads are short, but the more times and different ways parents hear this message the more likely they are to act on it,” Shaw said.

Another strategy libraries are using to reach children who may struggle with reading or have barriers getting to a library is to “follow the food.” Idaho had 321 Summer Nutrition Feeding Sites in 2014 and the ultimate goal is to provide books and learning enrichment activities from the library at as many of these sites as possible. ICfL and library staff from Ada Community Library and Boise and Garden City Public Libraries are in their third year of hosting “Literacy in the Park” programs in partnership with the Idaho Foodbank’s Picnic in the Park program. Each of the 26 parks and low-income housing sites served through the Foodbank’s lunch program get a weekly visit from library staff who bring bins of paperback books for the kids along with fun science and other learning activities. Over 12,000 children of all ages participated in Literacy in the Park last summer and surveys conducted the last two weeks of the program showed participating children enjoyed the books they borrowed and 75 percent said they read more that summer than past summers. One-third of parents surveyed during the last two weeks of the program attributed the increase in reading to Literacy in the Park efforts. A third of the public libraries in the State are planning similar outreach efforts this summer at feeding sites along with visits to daycares, migrant and seasonal Head Start programs and summer school programs. ICfL is providing over 10,000 paperback books for public libraries to use in these efforts. “Libraries are working with schools and as many partners as possible to reach youth who wouldn’t normally participate in summer reading programs. We are excited about how these partnerships are shaping up and the efforts being made to ensure fewer kids will arrive at school in the fall who are behind their peers who have had access to books,” Shaw said. ICfL staff can share more information about Idaho’s efforts to combat the summer slide at school board meetings and/ or by providing copies of Summer Reading: Closing the Rich/ Poor Reading Achievement Gap for trustees, superintendents, and principals. Contact Stephanie Bailey-White, Stephanie.bailey-white@libraries.idaho.gov for more information about getting a book or scheduling a brief presentation.

Stephanie Bailey-White has been with the Idaho Commission for Libraries for 23 years and helped launch the Read to Me Program in 1997 to advance early literacy statewide. She has a Master’s Degree in Reading Education and loves seeing Read to Me programs in action across the state.

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Boise Public Schools Foundation By Jennifer Henderson Executive Director, Boise Public Schools Foundation

30 Years of Helping Students Reach Higher and Go Farther In 1985, a small, but dedicated group of parents and patrons gathered together to explore a way to help teachers and students without using tax dollars. Thus, the Boise Public Schools Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was created. Thirty years later, the Foundation has contributed $30 million dollars to classrooms and programs in Boise schools. “Thanks to the vision and leadership of those individuals, the Foundation is a critical District partner,” said Boise School Board of Trustees President Nancy Gregory. “They provide the extra resources that can often be the tipping point in the success of a school or student’s life.”

Classroom Innovation

The Foundation’s first program, called Teacher Grants at the time, was a simple concept—use private contributions to provide additional resources for teachers implementing creative and innovative learning experiences in the classroom. Now called “Innovation Grants”, the program remains the heart of the Foundation and has contributed more than $2 million to nearly 1,300 projects. Highlights of grants include career-focused field trips, video analysis equipment, iPads, as well as books on biology, foreign languages, reading, English, and science. The “Thank-A-Teacher” program is another option parents have to deliver dollars directly to classrooms. “Nothing conveys a sincere “thank you” better than a direct donation to your child’s classroom,” said Foundation President Pam Solon. “Our Thank-A-Teacher program guarantees that your student’s teacher will have the resources required for an innovative and enhanced learning environment.” Since its inception in 2008, the Thank-A-Teacher program has contributed nearly $700,000 directly to teachers’ classrooms.

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College Preparation

As the needs of the District and its students have changed, the Foundation’s offerings have expanded rapidly to help provide additional assistance. The Foundation now provides financial assistance for students participating in college preparation courses such as Advanced Placement (AP) and the District’s Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. “AP offers two compelling benefits to students preparing for college,” said Boise School District Superintendent Dr. Don Coberly. “First, the courses are as rigorous as entry-level college courses. Second, success on the AP exam may result in college courses being waived or credits being granted, saving students potentially thousands of dollars in tuition, or allowing them to pursue studies abroad or other interests during their college careers.” The Foundation offers “scholarships” to students taking AP exams. Exams may cost students $91, but with help from the Foundation and, most recently, the State’s Fast Forward Program, every student wishing to take an AP exam can do so at zero cost. Dr. Coberly notes that this year alone more than 1,985 Boise students will take at least one AP exam. Students participating in AVID are required to take a daily class—the AVID elective—and are supported by AVID counselors. The students receive help from the Foundation in a number of ways, including class material support, college visits, and college scholarship opportunities. “AVID targets students in the academic middle who have the desire to go to college and the willingness to work hard,” said former Boise School District Trustee Bev Harad. “These students are capable of completing rigorous curriculum, but are falling short of their potential. Typically, they will be the first in their families to attend college and many are from low-income minority families. AVID pulls these

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students out of their unchallenging coursework and puts them on the college track.”

produce well-rounded individuals with a deep appreciation of citizenship, sportsmanship, and creativity.”

Mrs. Harad and her husband George have contributed consistently—and generously—to the Foundation AVID Scholarship program since its inception. Qualifying AVID students can earn college scholarships ranging from $1,000 for 1-year to $5,000 a year for 4 years.

For 30 years, the success of the students in Boise Schools has made the success of the Boise Public Schools Foundation possible. While the mission of the Foundation has evolved over time, the core commitment to ensuring every child has the opportunity to reach higher and go farther remain the same. For more information about the Foundation, please visit www.boiseschoolsfoundation.com.

Arts, Athletics, and Activities

During the Great Recession, school districts across the country were forced to either cut or adopt a pay-to-play model for activities like art, music, and athletics. Committed to offering a comprehensive educational opportunity for all students, the Boise School District and the Foundation worked closely together to ensure these important options were preserved. “Research clearly shows that students who participate in arts, athletics, or other co-curricular activities are better prepared for college,” said Dr. Coberly. “Plus, arts, athletics, and activities help

How to Form an Education Foundation

The Boise Public Schools Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization governed by an independent board with the purpose of supporting programs and projects of the Boise School District. For more information about how to form an Education Foundation, please visit www.schoolfoundations.org.

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ISBA’s Spring Executive Board Meeting Highlights Strategic Planning

Trustee Campaigning 101

2015-2016 Budget

Legislative Review

The ISBA Executive Board met April 24th and 25th to set ISBA’s goals, budget, and overall course in the year ahead. Here are some of the highlights: Strategic Planning

Trustee Campaigning 101

ISBA Trainer Bryan Matsuoka facilitated a discussion of ISBA’s vision and goals for the year to come. The Board extended last year’s goals with some revision, declaring that:

Pat Sullivan provided a campaign primer for trustees, encouraging those present to focus on grassroots organizing. He urged candidates to refrain from negative campaigning or arguing with their opponent, and to instead stick to a concise campaign message. Candidates should remind everyone they know to vote and help their supporters vote by providing them with absentee ballot request forms.

ISBA will continue to be the expert that is consulted for their knowledge and experience regarding school district governance; and

ISBA member services will be evaluated by the Executive Board and staff to determine the effectiveness and impact of ISBA’s services on the local trustee’s ability to successfully govern school districts in the State of Idaho.

It was noted that this is an exciting time in Idaho education, and that this may be the best time in years to champion a major education initiative and establish ISBA as the face of public education in Idaho. President Todd Wells appointed a committee to formulate and propose plans for how ISBA should seize this moment, so stay tuned for big news!

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The most common mistakes candidates make are underestimating their opponent and failing to prepare campaign resources for the final seven to ten days of the election, which are crucial to winning.

Updates to Governance Policies and the Employee Handbook Several minor changes were approved by the Board for each document. Most of these were references to charter schools added to existing references to school districts. These updates recognize the full membership that ISBA’s membership extended to charter schools at last year’s Business Session.

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ISBA Program Review by NSBA and Executive Director’s Report ISBA’s shift to a new property and liability insurance provider is going very well. The provider, ICRMP, has been very responsive. Claims are down, and ICRMP has begun covering cyber liability and liability for students enrolled in practicums at no additional cost. They have begun revaluing all member districts’ and charter schools’ buildings. Correcting underestimated valuations may lead to a rise in premiums next year. The number of board trainings conducted this year increased dramatically along with Training Program revenue thanks in large part to Board Training Coordinator Krissy LaMont’s efforts. ISBA’s other Policy, Job Board, and Job Description Programs are also thriving. Last year ISBA engaged NSBA to conduct a Program and Operations review. This review sought ways for ISBA to provide better service to our membership and improve our efficiency. Staff have already taken some steps recommended by the review, such as involving staff more in the financial analysis of programs they direct and having staff identify goals and professional development opportunities in their annual evaluations. More recommendations staff and the Executive Board plan to implement this year include:

2015-2016 Budget The 2015-2016 budget approved by the Board includes a new position for a high level administrative assistant. This new staff member will free up staff time to work on new communications and media relations activities as well as allow staff to spend more time on existing programs and activities. Each district and charter school’s dues will change by a different percentage because of the formula used to calculate dues, which is based on enrollment and Maintenance and Operations funds. Because this is the first year charter schools will pay dues calculated according to this formula, those experiencing large dues increases will have their new dues phased in, reaching the full amount next year.

Legislative Review This year’s legislative session saw many successes for Idaho’s school boards. The career ladder legislation that increased teacher salaries passed despite a difficult start. The sunset clause was removed from the law prohibiting evergreen contract clauses and a law allowing reductions of force in specified circumstances passed.

•

Developing a searchable database of master agreements across the State;

Legislation that would have cut substantially into the State General Fund, endangering future education funding was stopped with help from ISBA’s staff, partners, and members who contacted their legislators to urge against it.

•

Having the Board Training and Leadership Development Committee develop a Code of Ethics for the Executive Board;

National School Boards Association (NSBA) Annual Conference Review

•

Creating online training materials for school boards;

•

Freeing up time for Karen and Misty to answer informal questions and chat with attendees at the Annual Convention;

•

Appointing a committee to consider ways of improving urban and suburban school district representation on the Board and to explore ways of realigning the ISBA regions; and

•

Rebranding ISBA with a new logo and a new website.

ISBA’s officers have been active in the NSBA, working for school boards at the national level and ensuring that Idaho school boards’ interests are represented. Past President Anne Ritter was elected to NSBA’s committee that determines which cases NSBA will offer amicus briefs on. She also currently chairs the NSBA Policies and Resolutions Committee.

SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer 2015

SLATE

ISBA Annual Convention

call for WORKSHOP PROPOSALS

Can The Board Members & District / Charter Leadership Of Idaho Benefit From Your Expertise & Experience? ISBA invites school districts, charter schools, educational agencies, and others to submit proposals for workshops to be presented at the ISBA 73rd Annual Convention. Convention attendees are seeking information and skills to help them govern and lead more effectively in the ever-changing world of public education. Workshop proposal applications are available at www.idsba.org. (Please apply by August 25, 2015.)

November 11-13, 2015 Coeur d’Alene Resort 42

SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer 2015

SLATE

The

BIG 5

Workshops

1 2 3 4 5

Superintendent Evaluations Finance Ethics

2016 Board Training Packages

Continuous Improvement

All listed packages are under $4,000. Please contact: Krissy LaMont Board Training Coordinator

for any questions or help deciding what is best for your district or charter needs. She can’t wait to hear from you.

Idaho School Boards Association 222 N. 13th Street, Boise, ID 83702 P.O. Box 9797, Boise, ID 83707-4797 208-854-1476 . www.idsba.org

Package Strategic Planning (Continuous Improvement) From start to finish, ISBA will guide your board through the strategic planning process that will result in a compliant plan. All training plus consultation, surveys, and development work is included.

Package

Governance Strategic Planning

Leadership • • •

3 Summer Leadership Institute registrations Pick 16 hours of training from the Big 5 6 hours of follow-up consultation with board/ district/charter

Mix-N-Match

Pick any combination of 9 workshop registrations: • Early Bird Workshop (Convention) • Day on the Hill Workshop • Summer Leadership Institute • Pick 10 hours of training from the Big 5 • 5 hours of follow-up consultation with board/ district/charter

Events

Pick any combination of 12 workshop registrations: • Early Bird Workshop (Convention) • Day on the Hill Workshop • Summer Leadership Institute • Pick 6 hours of training from the Big 5 • 6 hours of follow-up consultation with board/ district/charter

ISBA & Idaho Leads (Continuous Improvement) ISBA & Idaho Leads are working together on this package. We will help you use your data system from boardroom to classroom to inform your continuous improvement plans, and help you design district improvements based on actionable data.

SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer 2015

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ISBA Business Partners

ISBA DIAMOND BUSINESS PARTNERS

Idaho Dairy Council A non-profit nutrition education organization providing science based materials to health care providers, schools, and consumers throughout the State of Idaho.

Moreton & Company Moreton & Company provides property and liability insurance as well as risk management services to member districts through the ISBA endorsed insurance plan. Moreton & Company also provides consulting service for employee benefits and self-funded workers compensation plans.

Zions Bank A leader in financing school district projects at the lowest overall cost. Since 1994 Zions has assisted Idaho districts in financing over 60 projects totaling over $200 million.

Jaclyn St. John (208) 327-7050 jstjohn@idahodairycouncil.org www.idahodairycouncil.org

Allan Ranstrom (208) 321-9300 allan@moreton.com www.moreton.com

Cameron Arial (208) 344-9522 cameron.arial@zionsbank.com www.zionsbank.com

Hutchison Smith Architects

Hutchison Smith Architects is a full service architectural firm that has been providing responsive, creative, value-driven building solutions for more than 18 years. HSA specializes in educational facility design, having worked with over 20 school districts and completed over 1000 successful education projects. We will assist you on a wide array of project types, from bond passage for new buildings and remodels to systems upgrades, historic renovations, and repair and maintenance work. Each project, no matter how large or small, is important to us. We offer you the commitment to give each project the attention that you expect and deserve.

Sarah McDaniel (208) 338-1212 smcdaniel@hsaarchitects.com www.hsaarchitects.com

ISBA SILVER BUSINESS PARTNER

Hummel Architects PLLC Established in Boise in 1896, Hummel Architects PLLC is a general practice architectural firm whose history touches nearly every Idaho community. Over the decades Hummel has built a solid reputation on the design of educational, institutional, civic, industrial, governmental, retail, office, and corporate structures.

Beth Beechie (208) 343-7523 bbeechie@hummelarch.com www.hummelarch.com

ISBA BRONZE BUSINESS PARTNERS

Piper Jaffray Piper Jaffray is a broker-dealer with a Boise office that specializes in Idaho school bonds. Piper Jaffray’s Idaho based bankers have completed over 100 financings totaling $1.35 billion for Idaho school districts in the past 10 years. Piper Eric Heringer Jaffray offers financial expertise and (208) 344-8577 transactional experience, as well as client eric.a.heringer@pjc.com services with tailored solutions. www.piperjaffray.com

SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer 2015

C3 Interior Environments

Piper Jaffray is a broker-dealer with a Boise office that specializes in Idaho school bonds. Piper Jaffray’s Idaho Martin Schindler based bankers have completed over 100 financings totaling $1.35 (208) 608-8382 billion for Idaho school districts in martin.schindler@ki.com the past 10 years. Piper Jaffray offers financial expertise and transactional experience, as well as client services with tailored solutions.

Hertz Furniture Offering furniture solutions for every room in your school all from over 150 vendors. Call today for your free quote!

Carli Bushoven (800) 526-4677

carli@hertzfurniture.com www.hertzfurniture.com

here in between. papers or bulletins with guidance

ent Toolkit

ISBA Business Affiliates

SLATE

BoardBook

Paperless Board Meetings Engagement Toolkit is Mike Elder ource with practical tools to (888) 587-2665 oards and school districts Ext. 6413 American public education. The mike.elder@boardbook.org erview of why engaging the well as highlights of research and a preparation and distribute agenda ment processes. Issue-based mat your board prefers with BoardBook.® ets, short articles, graphics, Online Purchasing Cooperative other tools to help school ISBA ain national education issues in just for Online presentations ISBA members: (208) 854-1476 as well as guidelines for parents Thursday, October a.m. MDT e issues. In complement with 17, at 9info@idsba.org Tuesday, November 12, at noon MST elations strategy, the Public t is a way to provide consistent Register at boardbook.org/ISBA or contact of public education and local Mike Elder at 888.587.2665. oard members nationally. Paperless Governance Solutions Michael E. Hanahan (800) 407-0141

Affiliat e Highlig ht

BuyBoard

Federal Insider Get the real story from Washington, D.C. with NSBA’s legislative and legal experts.

BoardDocs

mhanahan@boarddocs.com www.boarddocs.com

CPE Briefing Room Improve your decision-making with practical insights from school improvement research.

National Connection Nationally Developed Tools for School Boards ISBA (208) 854-1476 info@idsba.org

Perspectives Innovative ideas shared by national experts who are shaping public education for tomorrow.

USBA Flex

Employee Flexible Spending Paula Summers (801) 878-0671

Resource Center Strengthen your board’s leadership for student achievement with best practices from across the country.

psummers@usba.cc

Moreton & Company Home & Auto Group Insurance Allan Ranstrom (208) 321-9300 allan@moreton.com www.moreton.com

Public Engagement Create public commitment and strengthen confidence in public education.

Solveras Payment Solutions Check Recovery Service Rodger Regele (888) 726-0015

Money Saving Resources Maximize resources available to help your district succeed.

rodger.wa@comcast.net SLATE / Volume SLATE / Volume34 / Summer 34 / Summer2015 2015

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SLATE

By Karen Echeverria ISBA Executive Director

THE FACE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION At the end of April, the ISBA Executive Board met for their spring meeting. As with any meeting, they handle a myriad of topics and take part in some training. In addition, they approve the budget for the next fiscal, conduct my review, and update their strategic plan. As part of the strategic plan, each Board member sets some individual goals for themselves that will help to support the overall goals of the Executive Board. As we went around the table and discussed each person’s goals, I realized how dedicated and committed these individuals are to the success of ISBA. They spend a lot of hours working for their local boards and many more hours doing work at the state level as well. Many of them indicated that they would be reaching out to school boards in their region this summer and fall, so I hope you will welcome them into your district. Please be prepared to discuss any issues that you see happening in your district or region. In addition to the overall goals the Board has had for the past few years, this year they expanded their major goals to include one more – ISBA will be the Face of Idaho Public Education. That is a big and broad goal. I think the first thing we will need to do is determine what that looks like and how anyone will know if the goal has been achieved. I’m sure the Face of Idaho Public Education means many different things to many different people. Parents, patrons, teachers, administrators, other school district employees, and school board members will all have a different vision. To me, the Face of Idaho Public Education is all of you. You are the elected school board members in your district. You are the ones who run for office and spend countless hours of your own time to help improve student achievement in your district or charter school. You

set the general vision and direction of the school district or charter school. Of course, you can’t do it alone. There are superintendents, administrators, teachers, bus drivers, clerical help, lunchroom help, and many more that stand behind you. Those are the people on the ground doing the day-to-day work of making sure that your district or charter school operates smoothly. But you are the Face. You stand in front. You take the hits and sometimes the accolades. It is your face I see when I think about public education in Idaho. I see the Face of Public Education goal rolling in with the Stand Up for Public Schools campaign we launched at the Annual Convention in Boise last year, but I’m still not sure what that will all look like. Both this new goal and the Stand Up for Idaho Public Schools campaign encompasses more than just the education arena. It means reaching out to the public and the media and telling our stories. The negativity towards public schools has gone on far too long. It’s time we start talking about the positive things that occur in our public schools every day. Over the next few months, ISBA staff and Board members will be working on this goal and what we need to do to best achieve it. We may be reaching out to all of you for guidance and information. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your summer, and I will see you at the Region meetings in the fall!

SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer 2015

karen@idsba.org

SLATE

Labor Relations... ISBA can help with that! Job Description Service

ISBA Job Center

Having a resource for model job descriptions is a great benefit. From principal to custodian, the ISBA Job Description Service provides qualifications, reporting structures, job goals, scope of responsibilities, and more for the many jobs in your school district or charter school. Simply customize each sample description to meet your needs.

The ISBA has created the ISBA Job Center to provide districts the opportunity to post job openings to reach the greatest audience possible. The fee to post a job is minimal and there are several options for districts and charter schools to choose from to help promote the openings.

Salary Schedule

Negotiations Service

Each year, ISBA compiles salary schedule information from Idaho school districts and creates the Salary Schedule. The Salary Schedule is offered in electronic format to all district members as part of their membership dues.

To assist your district in meeting the challenges brought about by labor negotiations and labor relations in general, ISBA staff offers negotiation services.

Idaho School Boards Association

(208) 854-1476

www.idsba.org

SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer 2015

Idaho School Boards Association

SLATE P.O. Box 9797 • Boise, ID 83707-4797

Non-Profit Org U.S. Postage PAID Boise, ID Permit No. 136

Ph: (208) 854-1476 • Fax: (208) 854-1480

ISBA SUMMER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE 4 LOCATIONS. 4 DAYS. 3

Jerome / July 15 (1 PM - 6 PM) Jerome School District 125 4th Ave. W., Jerome

Rigby / July 16 (1 PM - 6 PM) Jefferson Jt. School District Office 3850 E. 300 N., Rigby

Coeur d’Alene / July 23 (1 PM - 6 PM) Midtown Center Meeting Room 1505 N. 5th St., Coeur d’Alene

Meridian / August 6 (1 PM - 6 PM) West Ada School District Building Lochsa Room 1303 E. Central Dr., Meridian

REGISTRATION OPEN NOW! Register at www.idsba.org . Regular Registration - $200 . Late / Onsite Registration - $215 SLATE / Volume 34 / Summer Save2015 by registering before June 24th, 2015

Early Registration - $150 48